"Scenes From an Execution"

WITH OKLAHOMA SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK

July 7-23, 2016

Written by Howard Barker

Directed by Laura Standley

Howard Barker’s Scenes from an Execution makes sixteenth-century Venice the setting for a fearless and humorous exploration of sexual politics and the timeless tension between personal ambition and moral responsibility, between the patron’s demands and the artist’s autonomy.

Commissioned to paint a vast canvas celebrating the triumphant Battle of Lepanto, the free-spirited artist, Anna Galactia creates instead a breathtaking scene of war-torn carnage. In her fierce determination to stay true to herself, she alienates the authorities and faces incarceration. Her younger lover Carpeta is approached to take over and seizes the assignment for himself.